CHAPTER 6 1 Why are the police sometimes called the gatekeepers to the criminal justice process The decision to arrest a person triggers the criminal justice process 2 Explain how corpus deliciti mens rea and actus rea relate All criminal acts consist of a corpus delicti or the body of a crime the body of a crime contains two parts the mens rea and the actus rea Mens rea guilty mind Refers to the mental state of the suspect The suspect has the ability to form criminal intent Actus reas elements or physical acts that define a particular crime 3 Give some examples of lack of mens rea Certain classes of people are incapable of forming criminal intent Most states make special allowances for juveniles They assume children undera certain age usually around 7 to 10 years old do not have the ability to form criminal intent A mentally retarded person may not understand the consequences of his or her actions 4 What is the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor Felony A serious crime punishable by more than one year imprisonment Officer can arrest a person without being present at the time of the crime Misdemeanor a minor crime that carries a maximum confinement of up to one year Officer may not make an arrest unless they are in the presence of it 5 Define Homicide The killing of one human being by another Two kinds lawful and unlawful 6 What does a justifiable homicide mean Involves the use of lethal force to prevent serious injury or death to another or oneself 7 To what does an excusable homicide refer A death which results from an accident or sheer misfortune 8 What constitutes murder A criminal homicide is a murder when it is committed purposely or knowingly or it is committed recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life 9 What is first degree murder Involves the following Malice aforethought Deliberation Premeditation 10 Define malice aforethought deliberation and premeditation Malice aforethought the intent to commit a felony or to cause death or serious harm Deliberation the person has though over the consequences and has still decided to kill the victim Premeditation implies that the person planned to carry out the killing 11 What is included under manslaughter Unlawful murder characterized by a lack of premeditation An intermediate crime which lies half way between the more serious crime of murder at the one extreme and at the other extreme justifiable or excusable homicide which is not a crime at all Two kinds Voluntary and Involuntary 12 What four conditions make up heat of passion Heat of passion temporary loss of control Four conditions 1 Provocation must be reasonable 2 Death must take place during the heat of passion 3 Must be no chance for a cooling off period during the time lapse between the provocation and the killing 4 Suspect must have acted in the heat of passion 13 Explain the standard reaction of a reasonable person p 189 Generally speaking mere words or taunting do not establish a sufficient level of provocation There must be some act of physical force such as an assault a battery or mutual combat The standard here is the reaction of a reasonable person A reasonable person does not normally try to kill somebody else 14 Contrast voluntary from involuntary manslaughter Voluntary a death occurs during some extraordinary set of circumstances and where the deceased has provoked the offender Under these conditions the aggressor intends to hurt the other party but is not trying to kill that person Involuntary negligence or recklessness can produce this type of homicide Negligence behavior that exposes others unnecessarily to the risk of death or serious bodily injury 15 What is the felony murder rule If a person dies during the course of a felony that is dangerous to life the suspect is responsible for that death Such a death falls into the first degree murder category But if not for their actions they would still be alive 16 Compare simple assault simple battery aggravated assault and aggravated battery Assault when one person threatens to hurt another person Person making the threat must be able to carry out his or her intentions The assailant must place the victim in genuine dear for his or her well being Simple assault misdemeanor absence of a weapon im going to slap you across the face Aggravated assault felony presence of a weapon I m going to smash your head in with a hammer Battery a successful assault Involves the intentional touching or striking of a person against that person s will The offender must also intent to injure the victim Simple battery does not involve weapon Results in minor injury Aggravated battery when the assailant uses a weapon or an item as a weapon Produces serious bodily harm disability or disfigurement 17 What is the difference between rape and sexual battery p 192 Former rape laws act 1 Sexist only males could be offenders and only females could be victims 2 Recognized only forced sexual intercourse or carnal knowledge as an illegal 3 Was a capital crime punishable by death 4 There were a number of evidentiary problems that hindered the successful prosecution of factually guilty persons Expanded sexual battery statutes 1 Include any oral anal vaginal penetration or union by the sexual organ of another or with any object 2 Recognizes males as victims and females as offenders as well as vice versa 3 Sexual contact must be non consensual 4 The use of force or threat to of force to make the victim submit 18 What are the elements of sexual battery 5 Include any oral anal vaginal penetration or union by the sexual organ of another or with any object 6 Recognizes males as victims and females as offenders as well as vice versa 7 Sexual contact must be non consensual 8 The use of force or threat to of force to make the victim submit 19 What is spousal immunity Common law does not recognize a husband being capable of raping his own wife The thinking here is that marriage represents a contractual arrangement between husband and wife This matrimonial agreement means that the husband pledges to support and to protect the wife The wife in turn promises exclusive sexual access for the husband upon demand Absolute exemption Under no condition can the state prosecute a husband for sexual batter upon his wife Partial exemption if the two parties are in the process of a separation or a divorce a prosecution might be feasible Shield law prohibits the introduction of any information about the victims past
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